The caption that goes with your clip is its second hook. Algorithms read captions for keyword categorization, viewers read captions to decide whether to watch with sound on, and search systems index captions for discovery beyond the For You feed.

The rule that matters: front-load the topic in the first 5 words. The caption space TikTok shows above the fold is short. If your topic is buried after "OMG you guys you have to see this," the caption did not do its job.

The pattern that works: [Topic in 3-5 words] [hook tease] [hashtag set]. Examples:

• "Cozy crochet ASMR fail. The yarn revenge nobody saw coming. #cozygaming #crochet #asmr"
• "Speedrun world record attempt. Failed at the last second. Watch what went wrong. #speedrun #gaming"
• "Cam model bio rewrite that 3x'd my bookings. Full breakdown. #cammodel #branding"

The hashtags: 3-5 specific niche tags beat 20 generic ones. Pick tags that have under 1M total uses but at least 50K — sweet spot for discoverability without getting buried.